The biggest name is Scardello Artisan Cheese, which will open a satellite location to its current Oak Lawn spot. It’s a huge score for DF Market Holdings, which owns the building. Scardello is always on top of Texas and regional cheese offerings, which augment owner Rich Rogers carefully (and cheerfully) curated collection of cheeses from around the world.

La Popular leads off the “old” faces returning to the former Shed No. 2 space, among those not mentioned in my story. Here are the others:
Abundantly Aromatic
Caribbean Cabana
Frenchie’s Bistro
San Miguel Exporta
The Good Stuff Dallas Organic Kitchen.

June is still the projected opening date. Shannon Wynne’s Mudhen Cafe will occupy a freestanding building. Are you hungry yet?

But forget big, brassy brisket-y flavor. No, because it IS a cheesecake. It’s subtle, almost like a pate, with a long, smoky finish. Jean-Bart adds a spicy barbecue-sauce-like topping for a little kick. Or, you could drizzle it with your favorite. Some people like to serve it on crackers, he says. Like at a party? Oh, yeah.

What inspired the Haitian transplant (who used to watch Dallas in French)? After his mother died in 2012, “I decided to open a business with all the things she liked such as cheesecakes, oatmeal-cranberry-bacon cookies and chipotle-pepper brownies.”

But you can also order your brisket cheesecake online ($45). It takes about 72 hours, since Cedar Hill pit-meister Bruce Austin doesn’t fire up the smoker for the brisket until an order is on the table.

If brisket’s just a trifle too kinky for you, there’s also the cheddar-bacon number topped with green onions ($45).

Netflix releases the third season of its hit series House of Cards Friday, and naturally you’ll want to binge-watch the whole thing over the weekend. Of course you can’t do that without the appropriate provisions. So here are a few grub suggestions before you fire up the tube:

In homage to President Underwood’s Southern roots, Pecan Lodge owner and pitmeister Justin Fourton suggests starting with his fried chicken, collard greens and mac-and-cheese. For later, “bring home several pounds of brisket to make sliders,” he says. And as the night slides toward dawn: “Mix the brisket with some eggs for breakfast tacos.” If you’re still standing.

“I’d suggest a meat-and-cheese tray,” says Jimmy’s Food Store co-owner Mike DiCarlo. “Then maybe lasagna or pizza.” They’re frozen so all you do is pop them in the oven. And for liquid refreshment, “That Stammeri wine is really good,” he says. The Sicilian with lots of reds and whites to choose from is also just $7.99 which, DiCarlo says, makes it very good indeed.

Better than take-out Chinese, stop by Banh Shop near SMU for a little Vietnamese-inspired noshing. Start with a Vietnamese noodle salad, drunken noodles or the bahn mi sandwich of your choice, then stash some some summer rolls in the fridge for a ninth-episode stretch. Don’t forget the Vietnamese iced coffee.

One of the easiest binge-watching nibbles is a mezze platter. You know: hummus, babaghanouj, tabbouleh, pita. I’m fond of humble little Foods From Galilee. But Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant and Pastries in Richardson never disappoints. Binge-watching strategy: Eat the hot items first (like Galilee’s kibbe), take your time with the rest. Or, build your own at grocer like Central Market or Whole Foods Market. Grandma’s Hummus from Austin rocks it.

It could be tough to operate a month-old restaurant where all the servers are teen boys who have previously broken the law. Executive Director Chad Houser seems to relish the opportunity to provide jobs to kids who need them.

At the end of a dinner at Cafe Momentum, a new restaurant in downtown Dallas, a customer ordered black coffee. “Sorry,” said the polite server who didn’t know what black coffee is, “we only serve regular and decaf.”

Oops! Little slip-ups like this one are common in the Cafe Momentum dining room, says Executive Director and chef Chad Houser, and that’s OK. Cafe Momentum employs teenage boys who formerly served jail time for non-violent crimes.

The non-profit restaurant is unique not only to Dallas but to the restaurant world at large. It earned Houser the recent honor as one of the country’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans.

Houser joins an impressive list of former recipients of this award, including Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy and Kurt Warner. The honor given by the United States Junior Chamber recognizes people in the 18 to 40 age range “who best exemplify the highest attributes of the nation’s emerging generation,” according to a press release. These people must be “truly outstanding,” it says.

Houser has already received accolades in Dallas-Fort Worth, but now his aim to give useful employment to teens is being recognized on a much grander scale.

Houser will receive his “Outstanding” award in late March in Nashville, Tennessee, but he says he won’t have much time to celebrate. The brand-new restaurant is still working the kinks out. His teen interns do still find time to flex their personalities.

“There is definitely more dancing going on in the kitchen than any other kitchen I’ve ever worked in,” Houser jokes.

If you plan to visit Cafe Momentum soon, reservations are encouraged. Expect a chef-prepared dinner served by teens who are eager to learn but far from perfect.

“We think of the restaurant as a classroom and our guests as mentors,” Houser says. You’re welcome to order coffee, even if it requires a little explanation.

Sure, you can bring home the bacon. But there’s a lot more to do than fry it up in the pan.

At Central Market, Cathy “Mrs. Wheelbarrow” Barrow wheels in for “Make Your Own Bacon and Then…” a class where she’ll cover:

Tips on curing pork belly and how it becomes bacon

The merits of roasting vs. smoking – including a taste test

A demo on how to make candied bacon, then use it to make bacon-onion jam, which you can in turn use to make mini comte bacon-onion jam tarts and rugelach with bacon-onion jam and peanuts – all with samples, of course.

Class is 6:30 to 9 p.m. She’s at Dallas March 4, Plano March 5 and Fort Worth March 6. Cost is $70. She’ll also autographing copies sold of her book, Mr’s Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry: Recipes and Techniques for Year-Round Preserving (W.W. Norton, $35). Check your local store for details.

It’s all part of CM’s Bacon Fest March 4-17, designed to put you in a bacon state of mind with dozens of porky permutations in everything from cupcakes to dips.

This pizza with a sunny-side-up egg in the middle is a staff favorite at Vivo 53 in Fort Worth.

By JACKIE HOERMANN
Special Contributor

Pizza places are piling on the pizzazz lately. Even Domino’s has rolled out an “artisan” menu. That’s saying something.

On Tuesday, Vivo 53 opened its doors in downtown Fort Worth. They’re serious about crust: Three master bakers took four years and 53 attempts to achieve their idea of perfect crust. That’s where the name comes from.

Founder and CEO Paul Daneshrad said Vivo’s pies are not like American pizza. “It’s Italian Tuscan style, but with a very unique and robust dough,” he said. They use imported ingredients like burrata, prosciutto and salumi.

A staff favorite is the pizza with an egg baked right in the center. It’s called the “egg, bacon, Yukon gold potato, and Bermuda onions pizza.” (Hopefully, they have a nickname for it back in the kitchen.)

Vivo 53 also sells pastas, appetizers, salads, and desserts. Believe it or not, the chopped salads are a big deal to Daneshrad. In fact, if he could only eat one more meal in this life, he’d start with the signature chopped salad. Then he’d do the spicy sausage and pepper pizza and the rigatoni mozzarella and San Marzano tomato pasta.

“I would finish with our fresh berries and cream.”

We’ll have what he’s having.

All pastas, except for the lasagna, can be made with gluten-free noodles. If you’re in the habit of making your hours happy, stay tuned. The happy hour menu is “coming soon.”

Other locations may be coming to your neighborhood, too. A second location is being opened in Bellevue, Washington.

The Dallas Morning News‘ wine and food event Savor Dallas will let you swirl, sip and sup over several days in March.

One of the biggest events of the weekend, The Reserve Tasting at the Women’s Museum in Fair Park on March 21, will pair live entertainment with ample food, wine and cocktails. Today, we announce the restaurants participating in that tasting:

Chef-owner Daniele Puleo with his Stefano Ferrara Napoli wood-fired pizza oven at CiboDivino, open by April 1.

CiboDivino Marketplace and Caffe, Daniele and Christina Puleo’s Italian market-deli-bar, is finally taking shape at Sylvan Thirty (say CHEE-bo da-VEEN-o). And Daniele is promising it will be open by April 1, just in time to take advantage of spring weather on the spacious patio.

What is CiboDivino exactly? A mini-marketplace that encompasses several food stations, such a place to get wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, pore over cases of prepared Italian foods (entrees, appetizers, salads and desserts), stock up on Italian deli items, stop in for grab-and-go options, or buy Italian essentials such as olive oil, fresh pasta, sauces, cheese and of course wine. There’s also an area for cooking demos and classes. Managing partner Ryan Olmos, who’s worked at Eatzi’s and Urban Rio, oversees the moving parts.

But that’s only the food dimension at CiboDivino. Also shaping up: a bar with craft beers (and wine), whose long windows open up on a wrap-around patio for inside-outside imbibing. Ditto the coffee bar, with a window that opens up to the east. Because CiboDivino is primarily a marketplace (oriented to take-away), seating is basically all patio, which includes communal tables. One side faces a grassy knoll where kids can cavort while parents relax.

Puleo’s best known in Dallas as the chef-owner of cozy Daniele Osteria in Oak Lawn (where Si Lom is now) and later Brix in Roanoke and Fort Worth. Suffice to say the Italian native knows his way around a kitchen and a pizza oven. Follow the action to opening day on Facebook: CiboDivino Marketplace.

Already at Sylvan Thirty: Cox Farms Market.

Bonus nugget: Teiichi (Tei-An) Sakuri’s ramen shop, Ten, will open early in March, says Sakuri. The authentic Japanese ramen shop has 14 seats, so get ready to slurp and run.

If you’ve been to the glitzy restaurant DISH on Cedar Springs, the new DISH in Preston Hollow is “quite different,” says restaurateur Tim McEneny, whose NL Group also operates Front Room Tavern and Dakota’s Steakhouse.

DISH Preston Hollow (DISHPH, for short?) is expected to open Feb. 24 with executive chef Andrew Bell, who hopped from Bolsa to Bistro 31 late last year. His American menu at DISH includes barbecue-braised short ribs, steak frites and a stacked reuben. (See full menus — including bites for kiddos — below.)

The pastry chef will be Allison Morse, who will remain at Front Room Tavern but also oversee desserts at DISH.

With the opening of the second DISH, McEneny announced he wants to open more of the restaurants “across the country,” according to a press release.

At the original Taqueria La Ventana in Dallas, diners can order at a take-out window and sit outside.

“If you’re in the mood for a quick alfresco bite of Mexican, you can’t do better than a couple of tacos at La Ventana,” says Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner in a story called best bets for dining in downtown Dallas.

Take her advice: “Order them at the window and enjoy the funky patio. Beer and margaritas.”

According to a spokeswoman, Taqueria La Ventana will open two new locations this year: in the Dallas Farmers Market and in Addison.